What Would you Miss About Santa Barbara?

The Summer Solstice Parade & Parade of Lights in the harbor at Christmas time

The Spanish-Moorish and the Craftsman architecture. The Italian stone wall.

We just moved to Lompoc. Nice!

Off leash dog beach and all the nice smart people. *caveat* We don't yet live full time in SB but have visited family for 30 years and just inherited a condo, considering a move after retirement. Anyone sorry they moved to SB?

We did move from SB after being obsessed with living in SB County for the better part of 43 years.
We miss the idealized Andalusian architecture, the harbor, the restaurants and the theaters.
We miss the family and friends we left behind, but not the cold wet winters.
We’ll never get Santa Barbara out of our system, and we’ll be back for Fiesta!

Born here and never lived anywhere else. After 70 years I can’t stand living in CA any longer and am leaving for the mountains of NW Montana for open spaces and the government out of my back pocket. What I won’t miss is stinky State St, the gangs, City Council, and Board of Supervisors. Adult Ed programs are nice.

Moved out of SB 5 years ago to the SYV. Only miss being 10 mins from the beach, now it's 16.3 miles and 22 mins from Gaviota. Nothing about Santa Barbara beyond that is missed-

The weather and year round local produce. You don't realize how great that is until you live somewhere else and shop for produce in January.

It's always funny to see the things people complain about here in SB. If you think SB is overcrowded, try living in LA, San Diego, the BA, or any major metropolitan area in the US. SB is the Goldilocks of places to live. It's not a large city, but it is not a small town either. We have a little bit of everything a large metropolitan area has, but on a small scale and with a semi-small town feel. I fear the day I am forced to move and have to deal with traffic and crowds everywhere. I dread the thought of commuting an hour or more to work each day and scheduling your life around the inevitable traffic and crowds (commuting to Goleta from SB sometimes traffic causes a whopping 10min delay on bad days). Add to that the weather and ocean access 12 months of the year it's a tough place to leave. Yes, it's extremely expensive and I don't always agree with the politics of the officials. But, my lifestyle in SB (ocean/mountains in the backyard, walk/bike to everything) is worth it. I'm not yet enough of a Grumpy Hermit to retreat from society and fear change.

After growing up in Los Angeles, I moved to the SB area back in 1985 (when I go to L.A. now, I can't imagine how I survived there for 28 years). It's hard to imagine living anywhere else (which I may have to consider when my only child gets a job after graduate school). Here we have great weather, the beach, places to walk or hike, and still some open space (which I hope will not disappear, as it has in L.A.). It's not too hard to get around town, and we have great schools. I would also miss my religious community, which is warm, inviting and inclusive.

Hmm, only two things…well, I'd certainly miss Harry's Plaza, which offers both good food AND good drinks, and is only a stone's throw from Chaucer's bookstore. I'd also miss going just about anywhere in town and running into friends, relatives and acquaintances. Oh yeah, and Monday Night Trivia at the Uptown Lounge.

The Bowl. The winter light. Sailing on a westerly, almost any day. John Palminteri - a local treasure and the last of a dying breed. The constant flow of new restaurants to try. The walkability of downtown. EdHat.

I will miss the avocado tree in my back yard and foggy days tossing the disc through the Eucalyptus grove.

Weather, beach, topography, hiking, arts & music, restaurants, and proximity to wine country. Would not miss the growing transient population.

Things I'd miss: Family and old friends. Without them we wouldn't think twice about leaving. FYI, second generation, born and raised here (go Chargers!), kids in local public schools, good jobs, homeowner. Not bitter about SB, just recognize that there are so many other amazing places that one could live besides SB/Goleta.

Things I would miss: Friends and family, the beaches, weather, mountains nearby , scenic drives along the coast, familiar faces at establishments , less traffic and simpler street designs, high- quality bike trails and bike lanes....the list goes on. Not a fan of the high cost of living though.

To be honest, I won't miss a thing. I've lived all over the US and SB isn't what it's cracked up to be. If only looking at SB compared to LA, Bay area and NYC, maybe, but there are so many incredible places with amazing natural beauty, and outdoor lifestyle in small towns without the traffic, the noise, the stress, etc. Can't wait to return to small town Americana and a simpler, calmer lifestyle. Plenty of other places where you can walk/bike to work, there are local colleges with Adult Ed, lots of local hiking/fishing/kayaking, friendly neighbors and fresh produce. Amazed how people seem to be fixated on SB as some sort of 'paradise'. I will miss the friends I have here, but that's what traveling is for. Can always come back for small doses.

I wouldn’t miss people comparing SB to NY, LA or SF because we are NOT those places and it used to be much better before the whole start up/new funk zone boom. It brought a wave of really annoying people. Other than that I would miss everything about my hometown.

Why are you asking, are you moving away?

Would miss: riding so fast on the downhill portion of the State St. underpass that I don't have to pedal on the uphill portion; getting a coffee at RoCo and taking it our on the wharf to watch the sunrise; looking at the waterfalls that form after a rainstorm from downtown/San Roque area....especially the BIG one along the Tunnel Trail; getting guacamole on the front of my shirt whilst slamming one of them big tortas in De la Guerra Plaza during Fiesta; seeing snow on the top of the mountains about one or twice a year; watching a surfer take off at Sandspit on a big day and riding a screaming 20-second barrel; seeing the completion of Pini's hotel on 1800 block of State St., seeing the piles of palm fronds along Shoreline that fall after it'swindy; weekend buffet at Brewhouse; dolphins surfing te waves at The Pit; catching all the green lights going down Anacapa; catching all the green lights going up Santa Barbara; turtles at the Memorial Gardens at The Park they named after Alice Keck; listening to whoever plays guitar "like a Bossssss" in the City parking lot next to Marshalls on weekends; checking Mission Creek at Rocky Nook for any signs of water flow; staring at The Islands on a clear winter day; Argonne Circle on Halloween; Second drink at Harry's when someone else is driving; rib night at T-Off; croutons at Chuck's of Hawaii's salad bar on upper State; MTD 12 and 24x to/from Goleta/UCSB; SB airport...no wait, no lines, no fuss, no mussssss....those are a few things I'd miss (in no particular order...although, the Ocean things I'd miss the mostess)...

Better Question: What would you NOT miss?

I miss 100 + 2 things about this town, and I still live here.

The advantages of a "small town" written here describes Carpinteria. 4th generation in SB County, wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I lived in Hawaii one year and missed everything and everyone in my hometown.

Two things, being so close to the ocean, and all Santa Barbara festivity’s, through out the year. The California Spanish Architecture, the weather, I tried keep it it at two. Not so easy.

I've moved away several times and can say, Summer Solstice, Christmas Parade, Ledbetter Beach, Hendrys, Wilcox Property, my old stomping grounds downtown, the library, the courthouse, the mission, the trails, the endless miles of beaches.....

Moved away a few years ago and now live in a much smaller town. So I miss some of the specialized shopping (especially ethnic foods), I miss the view of the mountains, occasionally miss the ocean. More than anything else, I miss my friends (though many left the area after graduation or retirement). A lot of the things I thought I would miss I didn’t end up missing very much after all

This is going to sound wierd but I'd miss the fire season. It motivates me to cut clutter inside and out. (I wouldn't miss the smoke, ash & soot though, or actually having to evacuate.)

I would miss East beach--Reef and Run and all the wonderful swim friends I have made there.

When I did move away for a couple of years in my younger days.... I always wanted Rusty’s pizza when I’d come home to visit.
Laughing about that now.

The weather. I moved here 35 years ago to get away from driving on icy highways to work in the mornings. I never looked back.